Does research in emergency general surgery match the health burden of its diseases?

Introduction Emergency general surgery (EGS) and its associated conditions are fundamental to the EGS specialty and residency training. Emergency general surgeons treat the majority of patients admitted to surgical wards. However, research volume in this area is low. This study aimed to evaluate whether the production of EGS papers was on par with cancer papers. Method A PubMed search was conducted for five common emergency general surgical conditions (appendicitis, cholecystitis, diverticulitis, small bowel obstruction and pancreatitis) and five common cancers (breast, prostate, colon, rectal, and melanoma). The volume of papers was compared between countries, and papers per million inhabitants were calculated. ClinicalTrials.gov was assessed for trials relating to the EGS and cancer diagnoses. Result In 2024, 5,664 EGS papers were published compared to 67,677 cancer papers worldwide. The most productive country with regard to both EGS and cancer was Denmark. The proportion of EGS papers fell over time while the total number of papers per year increased. There were 1,617 EGS trials compared to 32,845 cancer trials in ClinicalTrials.gov and the majority of EGS trials were completed. Discussion Despite the importance of EGS, few papers are published yearly. Comparisons between countries show large differences in output. Increased funding for EGS research should be considered to close the research gap with other fields.